Cannabis Glossary
The words you'll hear at the counter, decoded.
4
- 4/20
- Cannabis culture's unofficial holiday, celebrated April 20.
B
- Budtender
- A dispensary staff member who helps customers choose products.
C
- Cannabinoid
- A family of compounds in cannabis, including THC and CBD, that interact with the body's endocannabinoid system.
- Cultivar
- The botanically precise word for what most people call a strain.
D
- Dab
- A small dose of cannabis concentrate, vaporized on a hot surface.
- Decarboxylation
- The heat-driven process that converts THCA into THC. It happens when you smoke, vape or bake cannabis.
- Distillate
- A highly refined cannabis oil, often used in vape cartridges and edibles, that is mostly a single cannabinoid.
E
- Eighth
- An eighth of an ounce of flower, about 3.5 grams. The most common flower size on menus.
- Endocannabinoid system
- A network of receptors and molecules in the body that cannabinoids interact with.
- Entourage effect
- The idea that cannabinoids and terpenes work together to shape the overall experience.
F
- Flower
- The dried, cured bud of the cannabis plant.
- Full-spectrum
- A product made to keep the plant's range of cannabinoids and terpenes, rather than isolating one compound.
H
- Hash
- Compressed cannabis resin, one of the oldest forms of concentrate.
- Hybrid
- A strain bred from both indica and sativa genetics. Most modern strains are hybrids.
I
- Indica
- A cannabis type traditionally associated with relaxing, body-heavy effects.
L
- Landrace
- A strain native to a specific region that developed naturally over time, like Durban Poison or Hindu Kush.
- Live resin
- A concentrate made from fresh-frozen plants to preserve more terpenes.
M
- Metrc
- The seed-to-sale tracking system many states, including Virginia, use to follow cannabis from plant to purchase.
- Microdose
- A very small amount of cannabis intended to produce subtle effects.
P
- Phenotype
- A specific expression of a strain's genetics. Two plants of the same strain can be different phenotypes.
- Pre-roll
- A ready-made joint sold by dispensaries.
Q
- Quarter
- A quarter ounce of flower, about 7 grams.
R
- Rosin
- A solventless concentrate made by pressing cannabis with heat and pressure.
S
- Sativa
- A cannabis type traditionally associated with energizing, heady effects.
- Shatter
- A glassy, brittle concentrate.
- Strain
- A specific variety of cannabis with its own genetics and characteristics.
T
- THC
- Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main intoxicating compound in cannabis.
- THCA
- The non-intoxicating acid form of THC found in raw cannabis.
- Terpene
- Aromatic compounds that give cannabis, and many other plants, their smell and flavor.
- Tincture
- A liquid cannabis extract, usually taken by dropper.
- Tolerance
- How your body's response to cannabis changes with regular use.
- Topical
- A cannabis-infused lotion, balm or salve applied to the skin.
- Trichomes
- The tiny, sticky crystals on cannabis flower where cannabinoids and terpenes are made.
V
- Vape cartridge
- A small tank of cannabis oil that attaches to a battery for vaporizing.
W
- Wake and bake
- Slang for consuming cannabis first thing in the morning.
- Wax
- A soft, opaque concentrate with a waxy texture.